UNH Set To Battle USC In NCAA First Round

LOS ANGELES - The 2013 America East Champion New Hampshire Wildcats make their first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2003 and will take on No. 6 seed Southern California at 10:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, Dec. 5 at the Galen Center.

The match will be available live for free on the Pac-12 Digital Network (click here). For more information on the first and second round matches at the Galen Center, visit the USC NCAA Regional Central Page.

New Hampshire (20-12) won its first America East title in 10 years and fourth in program history by topping UMBC in five sets on November 23 in Durham, N.H.

The Wildcats have made three appearances in the NCAA tournament, with the last coming in 2003 against USC where the Trojans won in three sets. New Hampshire also made trips to the tournament in 1998 (3-0 loss to Arkansas) and 2002 (3-1 loss to Minnesota).

America East teams are 1-16 all-time in the NCAA tournament with the lone victory coming in 2007 when Albany defeated Cleveland State in three sets in State College, Pa. this is the third time an America East team will face USC in the NCAA first round and the fifth time an America East team will take on a Pac-12 opponent. Albany took on Stanford twice in 2008 and 2010 while Hofstra faced USC in 1998 to go with UNH's visit to Los Angeles in 2003.

Southern California (26-5) is making its 23rd consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament and will host first and second round matches for the 11th-straight season. In 2012, the Women of Troy advanced to its ninth regional championship match since 1998 before falling to eventual champion Texas. The Trojans finished third in the Pac-12 standings.